Ravi Shastri Backs Rishabh Pant Amid White-Ball Career Slump

Shastri Says He Gave Rishabh Pant Just One Piece of Advice

Former India head coach Ravi Shastri has come out in support of Rishabh Pant. The keeper-batter’s limited-overs career has stalled, even though he remains India’s first-choice Test wicketkeeper.

Speaking to the Times of India, Shastri said his guidance to Pant has been simple. He wants him to be “smart” and stay aware of the match situation. Shastri does not want Pant to rewrite his natural game, and he believes the talent is too big to be coached out of him.

Why the Rishabh Pant Career Debate Has Heated Up

The conversation around Pant has grown louder as India build towards major 50-over events. He has been missing from the ODI setup, and many experts say his high-risk approach brings too many soft dismissals in white-ball cricket.

Shastri takes a different view. In his reading, the fix is about reading the game better, not about turning Pant into a different batter. As Vegas11 News has noted before, the debate over Pant has always come down to one question: how much of his instinct should be protected and how much should be managed?

Shastri Has Been Hard on Pant Before

The coach’s current stance is not a soft one. In 2021, after India’s Test series win over England, Shastri said the team had been “hard on him” and had told Pant to respect the game more. That came with a call to lose weight and work harder. Pant answered with match-defining knocks in Sydney, Brisbane and Ahmedabad.

Earlier, during the 2019 West Indies tour, Shastri had warned of a “rap on the knuckles” after Pant’s first-ball dismissals. Soon after, he called Pant world class and said the team would back him fully.

Pant Form in Tests vs Limited-Overs Cricket

The contrast is the heart of the story. In Tests, Pant’s fearless batting has rescued India more than once. In ODIs and T20Is, the same approach has too often ended in an early exit, and rivals for the wicketkeeper slot have gained ground.

What Happens Next for Rishabh Pant

Pant is still young by wicketkeeper standards, and Shastri has long argued that he should be given time rather than judged on short runs of form. For fans following Pant form and Team India selection, the next few white-ball series will show whether his patience pays off. Vegas11 News will keep tracking every update.